The Spec Miata's Next Trick? Taking Over Vintage Racing

Here's a fact that will stun some of you, bewilder some of you, and probably just make the rest of our readers feel really, really, old: The Mazda Miata entered production nearly twenty-eight years ago, in early 1989. If you go back twenty-eight years from 1989, you arrive at 1961. That's just a bit before the end of MGA production. The MGB did not yet exist. Neither did the Lotus Elan, come to think of it. In other words, the 1.6-liter Mazda Miata is now more of a "vintage car" today than the chrome-bumper MGB was when the Mazda Miata arrived in showrooms.

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I had not yet done the above calculations when I arrived in Sebring a few weeks ago to watch the HSR Spring Fling, so you can imagine my consternation when I saw a few Spec Miatas out there battling with the short-wheelbase 911s, Elvas, and BMW 2002s. Once I shut my mouth and thought about it for a moment, however, I realized that pretty much all of the original 1.6-liter 1990-1993 Miatas are either eligible for vintage racing or about to cross the 25-year threshold that theoretically separates modern cars from vintage iron.

That's the thinking behind Mazda Motorsports' newest program, a collaboration with the SVRA called the "Mazda Miata Heritage Cup." It's a five-weekend season, taking place at Fontana, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Portland International Raceway, and VIR. The entry fee is a shockingly low $295 per event, and there's Mazda contingency money available as well. The class is exclusively open to 1.6-liter Spec Miatas, so all of you Runoffs hotshots with your '99 NB-chassis cars, to say nothing of my endlessly patient wife and her NC-chassis MX-5 Cup Car, will have to wait a few more years.

Many 1.6 liter Miatas have been stored until further notice or put out to pasture.

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The logical question is: Why bother to go vintage racing in a Spec Miata, when SM is still pretty much the biggest class in SCCA and NASA club competition? There are a few good answers to that. The first one is also the simplest: despite the best efforts on everyone's part, the early 1.6-liter cars are no longer really competitive at the highest levels of Spec Miata. As a result, many of them have been stored until further notice or put out to pasture as casual trackday cars. A few years ago, when I interviewed Jim Daniels for my "Oral History Of Spec Miata" article, he expressed regret that many of the first Spec Miata builds weren't being raced any more. This new series might change the game a bit in that regard.

Another reason to go vintage racing in your Spec Miata: The nice people at the SVRA have a no-contact policy at the front and center of their racing philosophy. This is just common sense when you're on track in an irreplaceable Porsche 917K or Ferrari GTO, but it's also very reassuring to racers who want the safest possible environment in which to compete. Those of us who are on a strict budget can also feel good about a sanction where you don't have to swap out your fenders once or twice a season.

Last but not least, there's the fellowship, camaraderie, and eye-candy nostalgia that you can only get in a vintage race weekend. If you've ever wanted to share the track with the classic race cars of the Fifties, Sixties, or Seventies, but you're unwilling to master the arcane arts of British-car repair in order to do so, then running an SVRA event in a simple, reliable car like a 1.6-liter Miata might be just the ticket.

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Vintage racing isn't for everybody, and there's a definite attitude adjustment required in order to enjoy yourself. This goes double if you're a veteran of a bash-and-crash "budget" racing series, or if you're a multiple-penalty-recipient club rat like your humble author. But if your idea of the perfect race doesn't include rubbing fenders at 130MPH, then the SVRA might just be the place for you–and an early Spec Miata might be just the car.

There are dozens of 1.6-liter cars out there for sale, many of which are in ready-to-race condition.

The good news is that there are dozens of 1.6-liter cars out there for sale, many of which are in ready-to-race condition or close to it. A quick check of various racing-classifieds sites indicates that you can get a clean, recently-prepped car for $10,000 or less. If you're willing to roll the dice a bit and/or do your own prep, you can cut that budget in half. Keeping it on the track shouldn't be difficult; the NA-generation Spec Miata is arguably the best-supported chassis in the racing game when it comes to getting spare parts and upgrades.

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If you think about it for a moment, it's awfully ironic that Mazda's little roadster might end up taking over the vintage-racing game the way it's dominated club competition for so long. But it's also perfectly appropriate. The future of vintage racing, after all, is the past of modern racing. Or something like that. This might be a bitter pill for the British-sports-car crowd to swallow, but you have to admit: they've been on notice that this would happen since, oh, 1989 or so. Time waits for no man, even if that man is wearing Nomex.

Born in Brooklyn but banished to Ohio, Jack Baruth has won races on four different kinds of bicycles and in seven different kinds of cars. Everything he writes should probably come with a trigger warning. His column, Avoidable Contact, runs twice a week.

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